


The masks we use

by Sweetferret



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actors, Fluff, KageHina Week 2020, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24772807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetferret/pseuds/Sweetferret
Summary: After years of not working together, Shouyou can't wait to stand in a set with Kageyama again.Problems appear short after, when after too many drinks at a party, a photo where the two of them may be kissing is leaked, prompting the actors to clarify any misunderstanding before starting to shoot their new movie.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 3
Kudos: 70
Collections: Kagehina Week 2020





	The masks we use

**Author's Note:**

> My second work for the KageHina Week 2020. This is made with day 2 prompt 'films' in mind, but I added hints of what I plan to write for day 5.  
> Hope there aren't many mistakes, so please enjoy!

The rising sun shines above the horizon, the birds chirp their good mornings and the street buzzes with traffic and people going to their schools or jobs. 

It’s indeed a lively morning. 

But Shouyou doesn’t want to be part of it right now. 

In a dark bedroom, he curls below the covers in his bed. His head is killing him and he feels worse than when he broke his leg and had to be in strong painkillers. 

Yesterday was the first time in a while he drank so much, but he couldn’t resist celebrating the reunion with his old coworkers from his first big acting show. It had been a long long time since they managed to gather so many of the cast in one place, most of them had gone as crazy as him with their drinks, so he didn’t regret it that much. 

Shouyou turns, opening his eyes to peek at his room. His pants are halfway across the path from the door to his bed and his phone is on the floor too, somehow connected to his charger. 

He doesn’t remember going home last night or anything after Bokuto dared him to drink the full pitcher of beer he had on his hand. Hopefully, he hadn’t done anything too embarrassing after that. 

The phone flashes an incoming call. Shouyou thinks on ignoring it for now, but when the name of his manager appears on the screen, he groans and rushes for it. Rubbing his temple, he sits on his bed and answers.

“Good morning, Nakamura-san.”

“Good morning, Shouyou-kun. I’ll assume you were sleeping, right?” He sighs with a tired voice.

“Yes. I just wake up and I’m not feeling that well…” He remembers he has to shoot an ad later and adds, “but don’t worry, I’ll be fine by the time I have to go out for the ad thing.” 

“I’m not worried about that. You’re all over the big gossip news, Shouyou-kun, a lot of people are talking about you and Kageyama-san kissing.”

Shouyou freezes. Of course Kageyama was at the reunion, but they didn’t talk that much. They had meet days before in an interview for a new movie they’ll be starring at soon and catched up with each other then, so Shouyou thought it would be best to talk with other people even if he wanted to stay with Kageyama. 

What the hell did he do?

“Before you panic, it’s mostly suppositions based on a photo someone took. It’s nothing explicit but it can lead to misunderstandings. So, between you and me, did you really kiss him last night?” He sounds serious.

How can he tell him to not panic and then ask that?!

“I-I’m… I don’t think so?” He closes his eyes trying to remember something, anything, after he drank Bokuto’s pitcher. “I don’t remember very well.”

Nakamura releases an exasperated sigh. “You need to talk with Kageyama-san and apologize. We don’t want to start with the wrong foot. You’ll be shooting the movie in a few weeks and we can’t have the two lead actors be in bad terms.”

“Yeah, I get it. I’ll try to talk with him soon.”

His manager scolds him for a bit longer and reminds him to be ready by 12pm.

Shouyou hangs out and stares at his wall. Covering his face, he groans, thinking he fucked up really hard this time. 

He has had a crush on Kageyama that developed over time since they meet as teens. It was the first time he had gotten a major role and Kageyama had helped him to be less nervous before rolling, even if he at first didn’t use the best words to do so. They worked well together and the show went for a bit longer than a year, and even after 5 years of it final episode, they got to play as their characters again, obviously as adults, in a special of 3 episodes to celebrate the anniversary of it. That’s what they were celebrating last night, the airing of the last episode of the special. He had had such a great time working alongside Kageyama, and knowing they would work again, in a completely different role, had him elated. Now though, he probably ruined their relationship, even if he never thought it would lead to anything more than friends. 

He looks at his phone again and sees a couple of messages waiting for him. He answers to Bokuto and Yachi asking him if he got home safely, and searches for the photo Nakamura mentioned. It doesn’t take a lot of time to find it. It’s the first news it appears when he googles his name. 

_ Actors Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou seen kissing, love flourishing between the future stars of BL movie?! _

Just the title of it make Shouyou flush.

_ The two actors best known for starring in a well known TV show where they play as high school volleyball players, show that just finished yesterday broadcasting a 3 episode special to commemorate the fifth anniversary, and soon will come back to work together in a new mythological BL movie to be released next year, caused furor this morning, as a photo of them started circulating social media.  _

_ As seen in the pictures, both of them were together late at night last night, Kageyama’s arm around Hinata’s shoulders, then Hinata seems to move in front of Kageyama and kiss him! At that moment, a person who choose to remain anonymous, quickly took several photos and uploaded it to Twitter, commenting how incredible that moment was.  _

Shouyou stops reading and scrolls down until the photos appear. It’s not the best quality, and he doesn’t recognize the location but he knows the people in the photo are Kageyama and him. In the first one they’re showing his back to the photographer, Kageyama’s arm is indeed over his shoulders, and Hinata has one of his own over Kageyama’s back. The other one is where they’re supposedly kissing. Looking carefully he wouldn’t say outright they’re doing it, the angle is not showing them clearly. Kageyama’s frame is covering most of Hinata’s, but he can see his orange hair, part of his face behind Kageyama’s shoulder, and one of his hands over his neck. Kageyama seems to be leaning down for something too.

Shouyou touches his lips and tries hard to recall anything. How could he forget something like that?

He stares at the photo for a few minutes, wrecking his brain for a flash or a faint memory, but nothing comes to his mind. 

At last, he decides to message Kageyama and ask to talk about it. 

He leaves his phone in his bed while he goes for something for his growing headache and then goes through his normal morning routine, evading to look at his phone until it’s almost time for him to go out. He hasn’t received an answer. 

Trying to not feel frustrated he thinks Kageyama must be busy with his own acting stuff, so he tries not to worry too much.

When he meets his manager at the company where he’ll record the ad, he asks him if they already talked. Shouyou says he reached to Kageyama, but still hasn’t received a reply. Nakamura looks disappointed, and tells him he’ll try to contact Kageyama’s manager so they can clarify whatever happened. 

The rest of the day goes by without news of Kageyama. 

When he gets home, he texts him again. They need to talk, or at least Shouyou needs to know what happened and maybe come clean about his feelings, even if Kageyama stays mad at him. 

He’s searching in his fridge for something to make when his phone rings. It’s Kageyama. 

“Hello!” He shouts, voice getting a bit higher. 

“You don’t have to scream.” Kageyama says, and Shouyou feels his heart beating faster. 

“I’m sorry. Um, thank you for calling me.”

“Sorry for taking so long. I needed time to think.”

“I understand. I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for whatever thing I did to you.” Shouyou rushes into the speech he practiced almost all day. 

“You’re sorry?”

Shouyou keeps talking despite Kageyama’s words. “I don’t know if we kissed, because I can’t remember anything after I made a bet with Bokuto, but I saw the photos and first thank you for bringing me home and second if I forced you into kissing me I’m deeply sorry. I shouldn’t have done something like that. I was pretty drunk and probably didn’t know what I was doing.”

“You don’t remember when I dragged you out of the bar?” Kageyama groans, and something shuffles on the other side.

“No…”

“Hinata, you didn’t do anything. We didn’t kiss.” He sounds frustrated now.

“Really?! Thanks heaven…” Shouyou breathes out, leaving all his worries dissapear. 

Kageyama stays silent.

“I’ll tell Nakamura-san then, he’ll be glad it was only a misunderstanding.”

“What if it had happened?” Suddenly Kageyama asks.

Shouyou’s mind goes blank. Did Kageyama ask that? 

“What if we had kissed? What would you do?” He adds.

He would leave the country and change his name, it’s his first thought. He managed to hide his crush for so many years and only a few beers would be capable of letting it all out? Hell, no, thank you very much.

Shouyou laughs nervously. “What are you talking Kageyama? I would apologize and not do it again. I mean, we’re both very busy… and- and I know you aren’t interested in me, I'm not interested in you that way either, so I don’t know why are you asking.” 

It hurts to say it, but he also remembers reading an article about Kageyama that said he wasn't interested in anyone and dating would be a waste of time. 

They stay silent, an uncomfortable silence. 

“Kageyama? What happened?” Hinata says when the silence extends for too long.

“Nothing. I have to go. Bye.”

Kageyama hangs out without letting him say goodbye. 

Shouyou stares at his phone. Why it feels like he did something wrong despite thinking it was the right thing to do?

The next few weeks before starting to shoot the movie, Shouyou tries to make himself busy. 

He writes in his Twitter account that everything was a misunderstanding and Kageyama only helped him get home after the celebration party. There’s a few discussion among fans if that’s really the truth, but at this point there’s nothing else to do. Kageyama writes something similar and Shouyou tries to joke in the replies, but he never receives an answer, not even an ‘you’re an idiot’ or ‘you’re a drunkard’. So he lets him have some space.

The first day of shooting arrives more quickly than he would like, but he’s prepared anyway.

The story is about a Tengu that falls in love with the son of a Shinto priest, who should soon take over his father’s work. Shouyou plays as the tengu and Kageyama as the priest. 

Kageyama is already there when he arrives at the set, looking the script and muttering something. Shouyou greets the director and producer and most of the staff before going for Kageyama, who only gives him a cold ‘hi’. 

Shouyou is a bit confused, but doesn’t let it affect him so much. Kageyama usually gets very intense when acting, focusing in his lines and exactly what his character would do. 

Once the shooting starts, Shouyou focuses too. The first scene they record is of the characters as kids. He makes sure to remember what the kids do, because there’s an important similarity in another scene they’ll record later. 

He goes to dress and get makeup done while thinking in his lines. Once he’s ready he goes to fetch Kageyama to practice a little before the actual shooting. It takes a lot of time to find him, and when he does his chest tightens. Kageyama looks really elegant in Shinto priest robes. He especially likes how perfect his face is.

Shouyou bounces to him, ready to tease him when Kageyama moves away to talk with one of the girls that will play as a Miko. Shouyou stops, he saw Kageyama looking his way, so he’s doing it on purpose.

If he wants to do it that way, he'll leave him alone.

When the moment of the truth comes, he hopes it doesn’t take him many takes. The wings on his back are really heavy. 

“We’ll start the scene where the Crow Tengu tells Takahashi he has to leave!” The director shouts and the clapper loader marks the start.

“I’m sorry Takahashi-san, the God of the temple said I need to leave at once.” Shouyou tries his best to put tears in his eyes. “I don’t think we’ll see each other again.”

“Why you have to go now?” Kageyama also looks in the burst of tears. “You promised you would stay this time! You’ll leave me alone like that time when we were children.”

“It’s your fault! If you hadn’t followed me and seen me as a Tengu, this wouldn’t be happening!” 

The lines flow between them, and Shouyou really feels his character emotions. The wind rises and Shouyou moves to jump and fly away with the help of a harness. 

“Wait, please don’t leave.” Kageyama takes Shouyou’s hand.

“I don’t have another option.” Tears start falling over his cheeks. 

“I love you.” 

Kageyama stares with tearful eyes, full of sadness. It feels so real a tiny part of Shouyou wishes it would be for him and not his character. 

"I- I love you too," he almost forgets to say as he's moving away, Kageyama's hand slowly releases his and they keep eye contact until he's out of frame. 

The director shouts 'beautiful' and everyone on sets congratulates them for how quick the scene was filmed. 

Shouyou wants to talk with Kageyama, at least to ask him about practicing other scenes, but he's out of view before the crew can pull him down. 

No one seems to notices how they barely talk as the days and weeks pass. Shouyou asks his manager if he sees something off about Kageyama, but he thinks he looks fine and they're actually working very well together. 

Shouyou frowns to himself, they do act very well, but outside the camera, Kageyama manages to slip away from him or go to talk to someone randomly if he tries to approach him and he can't hide. 

Before, they would take extra time to practice their lines, stay late so they would know perfectly where the other had to stand or react or say, but now even if they manage to do well once the camera rolls, it doesn't feel fun like when they were playing as volleyball players. It just feels as any other job.

Maybe this is what acting as more serious characters should feel like.

His current worry though, is the romantic scenes. Kageyama's words are so carefully said, his caresses so soft, his gestures so tender, it makes Shouyou believe there's something else there. He tries his best to push those thoughts aside.

"Kageyama is an amazing actor," he repeats to himself as Kageyama gets closer. "He's just an amazing actor."

They're shooting the last scenes today. Both of them involving kissing and saying Shouyou is nervous is an understatement.

The first one was simpler, after the Crow Tengu, dressed as a human, and Takahashi spend the evening together, they share a kiss hidden in a garden. They only had to retake the scene once after Shouyou forgot what to say, being distracted by Kageyama's face so close to his own. 

Now it's the final scene of the movie. Takahashi goes to the Tengu forest and makes a promise with the Crow Tengu, so they can spend all their lives together. 

Shouyou knows by heart his lines this time, he practiced extra hard so he wouldn't forget what to say right before they kiss.

Kageyama hugs him and says "I'll leave everything behind so I can be with you." 

"So kiss me, that way the Gods will know our love is real." Shouyou looks Kageyama in the eyes, he seems sad. 

Their lips touch. Shouyou embraces Kageyama's warmth leaning into his body and closes his eyes, deepening the kiss as a strong wind and smoke engulfs them both. His hands move to Kageyama's neck and he feels Kageyama's on his waist, tightening his grip. He tries to memorize every feeling and sensation this does to him. 

The director yells 'cut' and they separate, the crew rushing Kageyama to change outfit and makeup for the last take. 

They need to kiss again so they can edit Kageyama's transformation into a full Crow Tengu. 

While they wait, one of the makeup artist asks Shouyou to retouch his makeup before they restart the take.

When Kageyama reappears, Shouyou holds a breath. He definitely looks stunning in everything. If as a Shinto priest he was elegant, now he's stunning, or maybe that's Shouyou bias showing. 

They try to reposition themselves as closely as they were before, hands on waist and neck, the wind blowing over his feet, the warmness of their lips touching. 

He never hears the director speak or the clapboard's noise, he gets into his role and does something without thinking. His tongue brushes Kageyama's lips and immediately feels Kageyama's on his own. He lets himself go, at the verge of tears by how empty he'll be when this is finally over. 

Shouyou doesn't have a crush, that evolved a while ago. He loves Kageyama. 

The wind and smoke stops, they let each other go, the entire crew's applause is soon all they can hear. Shouyou wants to say something, tell him what he feels, but Kageyama moves and soon he's walking to his changing room. 

Among all the congratulations and people's small talk, he doesn't have a moment to search for Kageyama. 

He finally leaves the set with a knot in his throat and a heavy chest.

He doesn't even know why Kageyama started evading him. Was he that disgusted by the thought of them kissing? Did he say something in the past, even before the embarrassing almost drunken kiss? Does he have a partner that disapproves of their roles? 

He tries to reach to Kageyama, sending a message telling him he's sorry if he did anything to offend him, but he never gets an answer.

From then on, Shouyou does his best to stop thinking about it. Accepts so many jobs, his managers scolds him for not taking some time for himself, but he can't take that time or else the memories of Kageyama's kisses come back and his heart hurts again.

By the time the movie premieres, he isn't sure he should ask. He's so afraid of what to do, that as soon as he spots Kageyama and how hot he looks in his tuxedo, he tries to stay away from his path. He walk a little faster or slower, talks with that the person in the opposite direction, approaches the reporters Kageyama hates so much. 

It's not until they're sat and the room goes dark he realizes how tired he already is. 

The screen illuminates and his character appears as a kid, flying until he spots another kid wandering the forest. 

Shouyou does his best to focus on the movie, on the story and how the special effects make the scenes more amazing, but when their scenes roll he starts thinking he wishes he could be as straightforward as his character, who did everything he could to chase after Takahashi. He should have confessed when he had the chance all those years ago, when they were teens enjoying their free time with video games or movies, being so close they spend the night at each other house almost every weekend. He's sure it could have been something more than friendship back then, but he got scared when Kageyama told him about the new movie he would be in, it would be the first job where he was the only protagonist. Of course he congratulated him, but that would only deepen the thought that he wasn't at Kageyama's level, that he needed to be better to stay at his side. In that moment, they started losing contact, and when Shouyou heard Kageyama was going abroad, he felt devastated. They went from telling each other every secret, every thought, to being completely strangers. So when he heard about the movie and the anniversary special they would record, he thought all that awkwardness would go, that he had got over Kageyama, but as soon as he saw him at the movie interview it was like falling in love all over again. Both had grown and Shouyou was proud to say he was on Kageyama's level now, but even if he felt great chatting with Kageyama, he wasn't sure the other had the same feelings, and he didn't know if it was worth taking a chance.

Now though, watching everything they recorded together, Shouyou thinks otherwise. Even if he gets hurt and rejected, it's better than drowning in self pity. 

It's worth taking the chance, just like their characters did in the movie. 

The credits start rolling and Shouyou feels desperate to find Kageyama. It needs to be now, or at the very least soon. 

As people start getting up and clapping and congratulating him, Shouyou looks around for his friend. Goes around the room and hallway, asks people of he had seen him, but it's like he vanished. 

He's losing hope when he sees him going out of the bathroom.

He rushes, excusing himself for pushing people aside.

"Kageyama! I need to talk with you!" He yells when he starts walking away. 

Kageyama turns and freezes in his spot, he glances around him, like he wants to go away, but finally stays. 

"What happened?" He asks, stern.

"I need to tell you something," Shouyou says when he's close enough, and reconsiders when two people come and congratulate them for the movie. "Can we meet somewhere else soon?" 

"Why can't you tell me now? I need to-"

"Because I only want  _ you _ to hear what I want to say."

Kageyama frowns slightly, staying silent.

"I know it's out of the blue, but…" Shouyou looks to his feet. "It's important."

He hears a sigh. "Fine, we can meet tomorrow's night. Is that good for you?" 

Shouyou smiles big and nods. "Yeah! I'll send you the direction of a quiet place in the morning. Thank you."

Kageyama hums and turns around. He doesn't get to walk five steps when a reporter stops him.

Shouyou can't stop smiling, despite the uncertainty of the situation, he feels lighter. 

As a thank you gift, Shouyou joins him and tries to distract the woman to let Kageyama slip away. 

The next morning, with the emotion of the movie release disappearing, Shouyou gets nervous and has second thoughts, but it's too late to back down. 

He sends the location of a park that not many people know about, so at night it's perfect to talk in private. 

The day can't go fast enough, though when he's walking to the park, the moon shining on the sky and the cold wind brushing his face, he wishes he had put more thought on what he's going to say.

Kageyama is sat on a bench when he gets there. Shouyou greets him and sits beside him.

"What was so important you wanted to meet here?" Kageyama goes straight to the point.

"Yeah, okay, I know… you have been distant for the last… for months now." He does his best to not sound nervous. "And I don't know what I did to you." 

Kageyama is going to say something but Shouyou continues before he can speak.

"I'm not here to ask about the reason though. I'm-" He hesitates, maybe doing some explaining would be best. "When we were watching the movie yesterday I felt a lot of things… It made me think in us and what a coward I was."

"What do you mean?"

"Even if it was awkward most of the time, it felt great to work with you again. It made me remember why I wanted to be better, to be like you. When we kissed on the set…" Shouyou takes Kageyama's hand and tries to keep his eyes on Kageyama's. Luckily, he doesn't back away. "I realized how much I liked you, no wait, not only that, I… I love you, Kageyama. I'm sorry if it's weird. I needed to say it out loud so I can close that chapter." 

His heart is beating like crazy, he feels like it's going to jump out of his chest. His face too is as warm as a summer day.

Kageyama stares, eyes opening so big it's like they'll pop out. 

"I'm not asking for an answer, but if you could say something…" Shouhou tries to smile.

Kageyama remains in silence, glancing between their hands, Shouyou and the ground.

"Okay, it seems to be too much for you." Shouyou puts his hands in his coat pockets, suddenly embarrassed. 

"Hinata, you're a dumbass," Kageyama says and covers his face with his hands, elbows on his knees.

"Hey, that's just rude!" He complains and pouts. "I get it, but it's mean to call the person who just confessed their feelings a dumbass." 

Kageyama groans. "You're… I'm…" 

Shouyou is prepared to be called a weirdo or a dumbass again, but instead Kageyama pulls his shirt, bringing him closer and kisses him. 

This time it's not like when they were acting, there's no wind or smoke or petals. It's so normal, it feels even greater. 

He surrounds Kageyama's neck with his arms and Kageyama hugs him by the waist. 

It's so special, so warm, so good, he doesn't want to ever stop. So this means Kageyama feels the same?

Kageyama is the one to break the kiss, resting his head on Shouyou's shoulder.

"What really happened the night I took you home from the reunion was that you slipped and I managed to catch you, but when you stood up, our faces were so close I was the one who tried to kiss you." 

Shouyou gasps and trying to hide his embarrassment he also rest his head on Kageyama's shoulder.

"You covered my mouth though saying you didn't want to regret doing that, and that if I wanted to kiss you, I should do it when both of us were sober. So the next day, I made up my mind and planned to tell you how I felt, but you were so relieved over the phone when I told you we didn't kiss, I thought you had said that because you didn't like me back and felt sorry for me." Kageyama grips Shouyou's coat. "Then I evaded you because I wanted to forget how much I loved you, but while recording the movie I couldn't stop thinking how gorgeous you looked and the kiss scenes were the final blow. It hurt so much, I thought I needed to break up all ties or I couldn't let you go." 

Shouyou isn't sure what to do with all that information but to kiss him again.

"I'm sorry for not being clear on the phone back then. I thought you would hate me if we actually kissed," he says.

Kageyama snorts but doesn't add anything. 

They stay in the comfort of each other embrace for a few more minutes. 

"Let's spend the night together? My apartment is closer and honestly, there's more things I want to tell you. Like how handsome you were yesterday." Shouyou laughs when Kageyama pinches his arm. 

"Fine, but I also get to say how pretty you were in the Tengu costume." Kageyama gives him his signature side smile and Shouyou feels warm all over his body.

They start walking back and Shouyou doesn't care who sees or says about them now, he finally got what he had wanted, so as long as they love each other he knows they'll be perfectly fine.

**Author's Note:**

> You can talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/sweetferret).


End file.
